Hong Kong's mortgage loans up 5.6 pct in June

HONG KONG, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Mortgage loans approved in June rose 5.6 percent month-on-month to 44 billion HK dollars (about 5.6 billion U.S. dollars), the Hong Kong Monetary Authority said here on Monday.

Mortgage loans financing primary market transactions increased 19.2 percent to 10.2 billion HK dollars, while those financing secondary market transactions decreased 10.4 percent to 19.5 billion HK dollars, the HKMA said.

Those for refinancing increased 26.1 percent to 14.3 billion HK dollars, the HKMA said.

On the other hand, the number of mortgage applications last month decreased 1.2 percent to 14,654, according to the HKMA.